Uber Offers Free Travel-Time Data In Uber Movement

In order to control traffic, Uber has made an app which shows travel times between two key city destinations at various hours of the day and is made available to the public. The app, called Uber Movement, takes information on the everyday rides that Uber has completed.

Andrew Salzberg, Uber's chief of transportation policy, said "We don't manage streets. We don't plan infrastructure, so why have this stuff bottled up when it can provide immense value to the cities we're working in?" He also added that the app has a very "valuable but untapped resource for understanding a city's transportation infrastructure."

The app will roll out in three cities of the globe, namely, Washington D.C., Manila, Philippines; and Sydney, Australia. USA Today stated that it will also release in cities where Uber and policymakers don't seem to see eye to eye.

Like Google Maps where it features how long one would arrive at a particular destination, however, Uber presented more like spotting roads or transit where most are particularly in traffic due to the interval times of the day or whether an infrastructure problem has occurred.

Boston's chief information officer, Jascha Franklin-Hodge, told USA Today, "For us in the planning context, it's very interesting. "Oftentimes, cities and state transportation systems use things like toll transponders to show how long it takes to get from one place to another. But those are on fixed routes. What's interesting is this allow (sic) us to look at a lot of different routes," he said.

This is not the first time an app was created as such. For example, Waze has already been on the market and is considered as the world's largest community-based traffic and navigation app. Although Google does not do with time intervals, some people prefer using it too.

"While the data isn't comprehensive enough to allow city planners to rely solely on it, it will be helpful. It also should be a boost to public engagement with planners," said Hodge.